As adults continued to argue about whether to halt the merger of the L.B. Landry and O. Perry Walker high schools in Algiers, student musicians and athletes practiced together Monday full of enthusiasm for August. The state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education on Tuesday and Wednesday will reconsider the merger, which has been in the works since late 2011.

Recovery School District officials say Algiers has too many high schools and so it makes sense to combine the B-graded Walker academic program with the F-graded L.B. Landry in the $56 million Landry building. But some community members, particular Landry alumni, say the decision will erase the legacy and culture of two great schools and could even trigger violence. Last month, those critics won support from BESE member Kira Orange Jones of New Orleans, who said administrators should put on the brakes.

A coalition of anti-merger activists, called Justice and Beyond, said it is sending four buses to Baton Rouge on Tuesday to make its case. The mantra: "Let Landry stay Landry, and let Walker stay Walker."

But band members and football players at the old Walker campus, and members of various spirit squads at the new Landry building, agreed: It should be Landry Walker, together, all the way: New people, new programs. Fast friendships. More opportunities. The best parts of two schools.

"I've been at Landry since my freshman year and it's been good, but I feel like Walker has a lot to offer to our school" and vice versa, said clarinetist Whitney Perry, 17. "That's why I think it's important for us to merge."

"I think it's going to be wonderful," said horn player Jacolby Thompson of Landry, 17. "I think the expectations are going to be higher."

The Landry Walker High School logo shows pirate on horseback, a "charging buccaneer" that is meant to reflect the history of both the L.B. Landry and O. Perry Walker High schools that are scheduled to merge this fall.Handout photo

"I feel like the merger means more opportunities for everyone. And everyone gets along real well," said football player LiJon Cordier, 16, of Walker. The teams have drilled together for several months, he said.

"I feel like everything's going to go well," said trumpeter Jaron Williams of Walker, 15. The band went on a joint trip to Atlanta in April. "Since we started practicing together, I think I've met some really good friends."

Some students admitted to some initial hesitation. At first it seemed crazy, said Wellinitra Johnson, 17, of Walker, 17, who stood on the Landry mezzanine next to her new flag-team friend Keiira Sanford, also 17. But as she got used to the idea, Johnson figured, "It's going to be fun."

Adults have questioned the feasibility of consolidating two schools into one. But on the ground, compromises seemed simple: The flag team kept one Walker routine and one Landry routine, and built the rest from scratch.

Walker band director Wilbert Rawlins, Jr. lectured the horn players: "You're trying to gain what? What's the 'D' word?" he trumpeted. "Dexterity! That is the rapid motion of your fingers." At the podium, Landry director Shannon Haynes demonstrated a rapid motion of fingers.

Several students inadvertently echoed the slogan on the new Landry Walker T-shirts many of them wore: "Together ... Stronger Than Ever." Last year, the schools' flag teams had only about seven members each, Johnson and Sanford said.

College football scouts didn't come to Landry because it was a smaller school, said wide receiver Ruben Sartin, 17. And because the school closed for several years after Hurricane Katrina, it wasn't eligible to compete in the state playoffs. Besides, the combined team will have a better shot of beating Edna Karr, another Algiers high school.

In fact, if the schools don't merge, the Landry football team would be left out in the cold, said Kenny Henderson, Louisiana High School Athletic Association executive director. Walker, as the bigger school, would get the Landry Walker football schedule. Landry would have to start from scratch and other schools in that division would not be required to change their plans.

As for the question of whether students at the combined school would have to fight for spots in extracurricular activities, even Perry didn't mind -- and she'll be competing against her Walker boyfriend for a place in the drum major squad.

Williams is the Walker trumpet section leader. He said he and his Landry counterpart would probably be co-leaders. But if the directors picked just one person, it would be whoever deserved it the most, he said -- whoever showed the most leadership and had the best technique.

Cordier, who plays quarterback, just grinned: Bring it on.

Where the adults argued for each school's legacy, the teenagers argued for their own legacy. "I think over time they will accept it," Williams said of the alumni. "It's not breaking their school apart. People still know what Landry and Walker is."

"It's going to be something to remember, and we're going to make the change together," clarinetist Perry said. "I feel like I get to be a part of something."

At this point, not merging would be a real disappointment, they said. So, in the tradition of teens everywhere, they said the adults should leave them alone.

"They should just let us merge," Williams said. Cordier agreed: "The football team, we've built a bond."

Everyone's "thinking about prom and how our school year's going to be," Perry said. "We just want to be a family."